Two Malawi students commit suicide

A form four student at St John Bosco secondary school in Mzimba has commited suicide by hanging while another Form 4 student at Target Private School in Blantyre city committed suicide also by hanging..

Mzimba police spokesperson Sergeant Gift Nyirongo confirmed the development in an interview with Nyasa Times on Monday.

Nyirongo said the deceased Innocent Mndala 18 of Ngombe village, T/A Malengachanzi in Nkhota-kota district committed suicide by hanging himself on 23 June this year.

Nyirongo said the deceased who was due to sit for the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) exams on 26 June was found hanging dead in a room at Jenda Lodge.

The spokesperson said police also found 100 tablets of Panado in his room which suggests that he also wanted to commit suicide by overdosing himself.

According to the spokesperson, the deceased was discovered hanging dead by the owner of the Lodge who later alerted the police about the incident.

”Postmortem conducted by medical personnel and cause of death is suffocation due to strangulation” said Nyirongo.

Nyirongo said police are yet to ascertain why the deceased decided to take away his life especially now that he was about to sit for his MSCE exams.

In Blantyre, police said Alefa Chasweka aged 20 committed suicide by hanging with a rope in Manyowe Township in the commercial city of Blantyre.

Blantyre Police Station Public Relations, Sergeant Lameck Thembachako said there were no reason(s) recorded by the police as to why the girl committed suicide.

According to a recorded statement from the girl’s father; Roy Chasweka aged 63; her daughter was suffering from Malaria and was taking treatment whilst attending school classes.

Chasweka said that on June 05, 2013; the girl was left alone at the house as other family members went out for other duties.

“By the time other family members were back; they did not find her in and outside the house up until 17:00hours when a search was conducted that resulted in finding her in a vacant chicken Kraal hanging with a rope battling with her life,” added the Police Publicist.

She was immediately taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital where death was pronounced by the doctors upon arrival and there was no foul played on the deceased’s death.